TBR Tuesday #39

rhiareads / 2017-11-28

NUMBERS by Rachel Ward

Edition I own: paperback
Publication date: November 8th, 2008
Publisher: The Chicken House

Ever since she was child, Jem has kept a secret: Whenever she meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die.

Burdened with such awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. The two plan a trip to the city. But while waiting to ride the Eye ferris wheel, Jem is terrified to see that all the other tourists in line flash the same number.

Today’s number. Today’s date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem’s world is about to explode!

Gemma Sayers has spent the last six days rotting in a hotel room, wallowing in a noxious combination of gin, junk food and self-pity. She’s no stranger to disappointment but nothing could have prepared her for the chaos that unfolded when her celebrity boyfriend publicly humiliated her. Now the fairytale is officially over and Gemma is determined to put the past behind her and strike out to find a new dream. Just a few teeny-tiny details to work out: she’s currently broke, homeless and unemployed.

Landon Young has his own worries. Surfer by day and bartender by night, he doesn’t have the interest or the time to be anyone’s happily-ever-after. Weighed down by the memory of what happened two years ago, Landon can barely keep his head above water.

Antonia is eager to participate in the new peer counseling program at school—until she learns the person she’s supposed to counsel is Jasmine Luther.

“Jazz” is anything but Antonia’s peer. She’s a punker, a druggie, a gang hanger. As their peer counseling sessions progress, Antonia and Jazz discover they have more in common than they could ever have imagined.

Can a “normal” person like Antonia trust a psycho freaky whacked-out punker like Jazz? Does she dare?